At last! Lottie had emerged from her apartment! Looking slightly nervous, she walked herself over to James’ parked car, and let herself in. James raised his eyebrows playfully. He could see why Lottie had taken ages to get ready. Her hair was its usual long brown curliness. Her golden glasses looked the same as they always did. But the rest of Lottie…well…it was Lottie. She wore a black leather jacket, which was embroidered with badges she had collected over the years of her favourite computer game characters. She wore a white t-shirt with the word ‘geek’ standing out in black writing. Lottie’s leggings were black, and covered in silver sparkly letters which made out the word ‘meh’. Yup! Lottie was definitely a geek! She looked hot though. Lottie was a hot geek.
James ran his fingers through his short golden hair, before turning on his car’s ignition. Despite the fact that this car could run on auto pilot, James always loved to drive his cars manually.
“Did you get your mum those chocolates?” Lottie asked, just as the car came to life.
James canted his head towards the back seat, manoeuvring the car out of Lottie’s neighbourhood.
“They’re over there.”
“Good. At least we shouldn’t be late like the last time your mum put on a party for you.”
James gasped incredulously.
“Lottie! The party started at six, it’s nearly seven now. We are late today because you decided to take ages to get ready.”
Lottie’s eyes widened, horrified as she noticed the time on the car’s LED display. She could say nothing in response, except from a disgruntled little sputter or mutter here and there.
James grinned boyishly, revelling in his victory over his best friend. Kim, his mother had put on a party - a leaving party. Tomorrow, James and Lottie would set off into outer space.
With both of them being twenty four years old, this was James’ and Lottie’s first ever mission into outer space. James’ heart winced nervously. His father had died in space. He didn’t want the same to happen to himself or to Lottie.
The trouble was, no one knew what was going on over in Nebowska. Word had just arrived to Earth that the Nebee were in serious trouble. Essentially, James and his fellow space warriors were going into this mission blind, and that made everything all the more dangerous.
After almost thirty minutes of driving, James pulled his blue car up outside his mother’s little country cottage. He missed this, the country, the peace, the tranquility. James had grown up here - with his mother, and in his younger years, his father too. At the age of nineteen, James had yearned for independence. The young space warrior had left his family home for the busier town life. His own apartment was only a few minutes away from Lottie’s.
“So,” Lottie sighed, raising her eyebrows, “are you ready for this?”
“As long as Phil stays away from me, there won’t be any trouble.”
Phil! He was a problem, he was the problem. The American man infuriated James. The man sickened James. Was he even a man? He was most certainly a traitor, a traitor to his father!
Like James, his late father and Lottie, Phil was a space warrior too, and unfortunately for James, Phil was a very experienced space warrior at that, captaining his fair share of missions over the years. The problem? Phil had been a ‘friend’ to Jonathan, James’ father. Phil was supposed to be Jonathan’s best friend in actual fact. So how, how was it that Phil was now cosily shacked up with Kim, James’ mother, his best friend’s wife?!
James got out of the car somewhat angrily. To add further insult to injury, Phil had been there too. The man had watched as James’ father had breathed his last breath of life. Yet Phil, he would not recount a single detail to anyone, choosing to remain tight lipped about how everything had happened. This had made James assume that the man had something sinister to hide.
Unfortunately for James, Phil was captaining this very mission, and to make matters a whole lot worse, he was living with his mother, and therefore, he would definitely be at this sending off party, too.
With Lottie by his side, James rang his mother’s door bell. Almost immediately, his mother answered, throwing her arms around her son.
“Oh, James! You made it! You came!”
James’ heart gave another little wince - his mother had doubted he would come, strictly because of Phil. Yes, James loathed Phil, but he loved his mother, and he felt guilty that she worried so much.
“Mum,” James gulped, encasing her within his very own strong arms, “of course I’m here. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I just hope you’ve not gone to too much trouble.”
Kimberly pulled away from James, cupping his face in her loving hands.
“Who me?” she whispered with unshed tears in her eyes. “Only the best for my brave brave boy, you know that!” Kim looked over to Lottie and smiled. “And you!” She beamed, encasing James’ best friend in her arms. “It’s so good to see you before you go!”
Lottie’s face beamed red with embarrassment. She wasn’t one for physical affection. Nevertheless, Lottie liked Kim. She liked Kim a lot, so she returned the hug with as much friendliness as she could manage.
Kim looked a lot like James. They were both physically beautiful specimens. Mother and son shared the same light golden hair and the same soft blue eyes. Both kept up with the trends, and both could've easily been models in their prime. James of course, was in his prime, and his athletic physique made him all the more gorgeous.
As James and Lottie entered through the doorway, James remembered that he was holding a box of creamy truffles for his mum. She wasn’t stupid - she must have seen them. As always, Kim was too polite to claim them before they were offered to her.
“Oh er, I almost forgot, I got you these.”
Kim patted her son’s arm,
“James! What have I told you about always coming over with chocolates and flowers?”
James grinned wolfishly,
“That they’re not good enough. That you prefer dark to milk.”
Kim rolled her eyes,
“Hush you! I tell you they’re lovely, which they are, but that you needn’t always feel the need to bring me all these treats.”
James’ face straightened. He felt emotional all of a sudden as he watched his mother’s kind expression.
“I want to, mum. After everything you do for me, it’s the least I can do.”
Kim clutched the red box of chocolates to her chest, smiling lovingly at her only child. She led him and Lottie through her house, introducing them to guests they both knew, and were yet to meet.
James took the time to admire his old home, touched by how much effort his mother had gone to. Everything was so elaborate. Parties usually consisted of food, drink, and perhaps a banner here or there. But this party exceeded the usual by far. Kim had embellished the room with all kinds of decorations. There were lights, banners and balloons. There were large blown up photographs of James all scattered along the cream walls. James felt a little pang of embarrassment. He was touched nonetheless.
The young space warrior eyed the large table of food and drink, licking his lips ravenously. Kim had outdone herself on the food front today. She hadn’t just prepared the usual food you would find in a buffet, she had cooked entire meals too, keeping them warm in her state of the art, heated counter. That chicken korma, James felt his tongue growing moister and moister, drinking in the fantasy creamy spice of one of his mother’s signature dishes. First stop, korma, mmmm.
After grabbing some drinks, and devouring his favourite dish, James had tried his best to mingle with as many guests as possible. They were all here to wish him off into space after all.
Lottie remained close to James’ side throughout. She wasn’t one for parties or big social events at all, and so James appreciated Lottie just being here. He appreciated her immensely, especially when Phil was around.
Naturally, James would want to spend time with his mother on the eve before him leaving planet Earth for the very first time. Unfortunately for
the young space warrior, that also meant having to endure Phil. James was grateful that Lottie did his polite chit-chatting for him.
However, James could only put up with Phil for so long. The man was an arrogant prick, and so the young space warrior had decided to seek some refuge in his mother’s back garden. He loved this place, and it still looked the same as when he was a little child. It even smelt the same. James could smell the freshness of the air all around him. He could smell the little zesty spice of the trees mingling fruitily with the air all around him.
James walked over to the metre tall fence which separated the garden from the fields beyond it. Beyond those fields was woodland, woodland which he and his father had spent so much time ‘animal watching’ in. James lent on the fence longingly, yearning for just one more day with his father. He would give anything, anything at all for even a single minute with his father. At least then, James would be able to say goodbye, and most importantly, he’d be able to tell his father how much he loved him. Just one more minute James begged to the moon. It was full tonight. The moon looked beautiful.
James’ shoulders tensed in response to hearing the back door opening. If that were Phil trying to be all sickeningly pleading for acceptance, then he was going to flip! No way! No way would James ever accept that pig! To the young space warrior’s relief, the footsteps were his mother’s.
Kim placed a loving hand on her son’s bare, and rather muscular bicep.
“Oh, James! Why didn’t you bring your jacket out? It’s the middle of November - it’s freezing!”
James shrugged sullenly, his mind still dwelling on his father.
“I don’t know…I didn’t think.” His voice was barely audible, too lost in his mind’s despair.
“Are you okay?” Kim asked, her voice still nothing but kind.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” James sighed, trying to regain his composure. “It’s just….I miss him, ma.”
Kim took a sharp slice of air into her lungs, knowing, without having to ask, who her son was speaking about.
“Me too. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. But he’s up there, you know, and he’d be so proud of you.”
James gulped, unable to hide the lack of faith on his face.
“I don’t know about that,” he whispered.
“James!” Kim gasped incredulously, “how can you even think that? I mean look, look above you! Look at all those stars. Look at all those Solar Systems! Look at the true Universe which surrounds us. You more than most people should be able to appreciate that, James.”
“Just because there are other worlds, mum, doesn’t mean to say that there is life after death.”
“James!” Kim pleaded into her son’s eyes, impassioned by her beliefs, “anything’s possible. If there’s one thing the Universe teaches me, it’s that anything is possible! You don’t realise how it was back before you were born. People looked up to the Universe, but they never truly saw it. They had no idea what was out there. Life, people had no idea that it even existed on other planets. These days, that belief strikes out as being completely and utterly ridiculous, doesn’t it?”
James nodded, agreeing with his mother. It baffled him that people used to truly believe that Earth was the only planet out there which contained life. The stars were so abundant. Life was so abundant. The evidence was right there, up above Earth’s atmospheric veil.
“You know,” Kim continued, seeing that she was getting through to her son at last, “people did seriously believe that it was impossible for life to exist out there. They believed it was impossible to travel to other Solar Systems and Galaxies. Now look at us. Now look at you and what you’re about to do. Maybe one day, the afterlife will be revealed to us, and maybe one day, people like you who don’t believe will baffle the minds of many.”
James couldn’t help but grin a little at his mother’s teasing smile.
“Maybe,” he agreed, feeling a bit more upbeat.
“Look,” Kimberly sighed, leaning away from her son to retrieve a little brown box from her cardigan pocket. “Whether or not you choose to believe, I have a little something for you. I saved it for this very day.”
James’ heart lurched, realising what was in that little, brown velvety box.
“Mum,” he began to modestly protest, “you know I can’t take this, it’s too much.”
“Nonsense,” Kim waved off her son’s words, opening up the box to reveal the green jewelled necklace inside it. “He would want you to have this.”
James eyed the glowing green gem. It was beautiful. It was surreal. The necklace had belonged to his father, and James had always loved it as a child. The jewel had come from another planet. It was a magical gem from another world.
“You know,” Kim started, placing the necklace around her son’s neck, “who would have thought that we could’ve obtained a stone like this, huh? A jewel from another world? Well, your father did, and I’m sure you’ll find lots of souvenirs to bring back, too.”
“Mum…” James cupped his hands around the gem which rested on his chest, “what if I…what if I lose it?”
Kim placed both of her hands on her son’s cheeks, gazing into his eyes with love.
“I’m sure you won’t. I’m sure this jewel will give you strength, it will remind you of your father. As long as it brings you some form of comfort up there, then that’s all that matters. What you do with it is up to you. You’ve earned this, and your father wants you to have it.”
James studied the fluorescent green jewel. It reminded him of a comet, the way it curled a little, as if it had a tail.
“Dad’s necklace will give me all the strength I need,” James whispered, feeling empowered by it already.
***
James placed his palm on the silver identification panel. The device read his print, opening the black door with a whoosh!
Berkshire’s Space Centre was huge! The interior of the building was clean, gleaming pristinely. The white walls and floor of the building appeared to shine, as if polished every single nanosecond of the day. The corridor was fairly narrow, winding up and down, left and right, leading to many different doorways and areas.
James unintentionally slammed his palm on the next identification panel, watching as the little remnants of his sweat dissipated away from the panel once his hand had been released from it. The door opened, and James entered the humungous launch area.
There it lay. The Earthship. The biggest ship that had ever been created by mankind. This huge hulk of a vessel demanded only one thing: respect. It was impossible not to respect this silver voyager. The ship had journeyed through so many Solar Systems, so many Galaxies. It was old, experienced. The ship was the ultimate Grandfather, watching over, guarding and looking after all of its humans which had traveled within its safety. James was glad that the Earthship had been selected for this mission; it had always been his dream to travel to space in it. That dream was only a couple of short hours away from coming true.
Dressed in his black trousers, grey t-shirt, and silver zip up top, James posed for the routine crew photo. He was careful to sandwich himself between Lottie and Zach. James was careful not to be next to Phil.
Zach was a cool guy, and another good friend of James’. The dark skinned American was more experienced and slightly older than James. Yet the family man had an air of immaturity about him that made him kind of endearing and slightly annoying at the same time.
With mission pilot, Lisa, by his side, Zach rushed over to his two toddlers, and his wife, Latoya.
James felt a sharp pang in his chest, watching as his mother hugged Phil in the distance. She hadn’t just come here for Phil, she had come for her son, too.
The young space warrior looked over to Lottie, and all of a sudden, James felt an overpowering lump in his throat. His best friend looked lost. His best friend looked scared beyond belief, yet no one was here for her. Everyone else, Karl, Zach, Lisa, and even Phil, they all had loved ones. But Lottie, she had always be
en the black sheep of the family. Her Aunt and her Uncle never gave her the love she deserved.
Without giving a shit about Lottie’s aversion to physical touch, James took her hand and led her towards his mother. Kim emanated love. She was just one of those indulgent people who showed nothing but kindness and love to everyone she met. James knew that his mother saw Lottie as a daughter. Lottie had plenty of people who loved her, just not blood related.
“Group hug,” James called, inviting his mum and Lottie into a huddle. He at least appreciated the fact that Phil had backed off to give him some time with his mother.
For a while, the three of them just held on tightly to one another. Even Lottie immersed herself in this beautiful moment. Eventually, everyone parted contact, and James could see that his mother had tears in her eyes.
“Oh no, mum! You promised you wouldn’t blubber on me,” James joked.
“I’m trying!” Kim laughed tearily, looking lovingly into the eyes of both her son and Lottie.
James placed a tender thumb on his mother’s cheek, gently wiping away one of her tears.
“Well obviously not quite hard enough,” he whispered.
Kim took a deep breath, pulling herself together.
“You two will look after each other for me, won’t you? There’ll be no silly bickering. I swear, you two are like an old married couple sometimes.”
It was true that. James and Lottie argued over the pettiest of things all the time.
Diversion To Urasha (Space Era Book 1) Page 2
